Is Google building a Serendipity Engine?

Will Google's search engine eventually evolve into a serendipitous, omnipotent entity?

Well, Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes that his company remains on track to build an "augmented version" of humanity.

"[We envision] a future where you don't forget anything. In this new future you're never lost. We will know your position down to the foot and down to the inch over time," Schmidt said during a keynote speech at TechCrunch Disrupt transcribed by Technology Review.

"[For example, say] I'm interested in history [and] as I'm walking down the street in San Francisco I want my mobile device to tell me about the history here...Just think of it as a Serendipity Engine."

Schmidt also noted that smartphones, which he referred to as "defining iconic devices," were already capable of operating as real-time translators for speech.

"We can now demonstrate and are getting ready to ship products that let you speak in English and have it come out of a phone at the other end in German.

"[Yes], for me this is [certainly] the stuff of science fiction."

Finally, Schmidt sketched out a near-utopian vision of the future, in which cars drive themselves and people are never lonely, bored, or out of ideas.

"[And] this is a future for the average person, not just the elite. Because of technology, because of Internet access, this is a market for one billion now, two billion soon and in our lifetime - five-to-six billion altogether."